Time-use Patterns Research Articles

The Working Week in the Long Nineteenth Century: Evidence from the Timings of Political Events in Britain

AbstractDebates about patterns of time use in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain go back to the seminal work of E. P. Thompson in the 1960s. But the lack of systematic evidence means that many of these questions remain unresolved. In an attempt to advance those debates, this essay uses three catalogs of political events to reconstruct the working week in Britain over the long nineteenth century. Three patterns emerge. First, observance of Saint Monday appears to have been widespread in the early nineteenth century before declining slowly in the mid-1800s, a process that happened faster in factory towns than elsewhere. This finding supports the orthodox narrative about Saint Monday against its recent challengers (in particular Hans-Joachim Voth). Second, I find that political organizers in the early nineteenth century were reluctant to profane the Sabbath by arranging public meetings on Sundays, but that this came to an end during the heyday of Chartism. Third, these catalogs also provide some, more speculative, evidence that the working day and the working week became more ordered as the nineteenth century wore on.

Professional Status of Infectious Disease Specialists in Korea: A Nationwide Survey.

Infectious disease (ID) specialists are skilled facilitators of medical consultation who promote better outcomes in patient survival, antibiotic stewardship as well as healthcare safety in pandemic response. This study aimed to assess the working status of ID specialists and identify problems faced by ID professionals in Korea. This was a nationwide cross-sectional study in Korea. An online-based survey was conducted over 11 days (from December 17-27, 2020), targeting all active adult (n = 281) and pediatric (n = 71) ID specialists in Korea (N = 352). Questions regarding the practice areas of the specialists were divided into five categories: 1) clinical practices of outpatient care, inpatient care, and consultations; 2) infection control; 3) antibiotic stewardship; 4) research; and 5) education and training. We investigated the weekly time-use patterns for these areas of practice. Of the 352 ID specialists, 195 (55.4%; 51.2% [144/281] adult and 71.8% [51/71] pediatric ID specialists) responded in the survey. Moreover, 144 (73.8%) of the total respondents were involved in all practice categories investigated. The most common practice area was outpatient service (93.8%), followed by consultation (91.3%) and inpatient service (87.7%). Specialists worked a median of 61 (interquartile range: 54-71) hours weekly: patient care, 29 (14-37) hours; research 11 (5-19) hours; infection control 4 (2-10) hours; antibiotic stewardship, 3 (1-5) hours; and education/training, 2 (2-6) hours. ID specialists in Korea simultaneously undertake multiple tasks and work long hours, highlighting the need for training and employing more ID specialists.

1375. Professional Status of Infectious Disease Specialists in Korea: A Nationwide Cross-sectional Study

BackgroundEmergence of more antimicrobial-resistant pathogens and repeated occurrence of infectious disease (ID) outbreaks highlight the importance of ID specialists. This study aimed to assess the working status of ID specialists and identify problems faced by ID professionals in Korea.MethodsAn online-based survey was conducted over 11 days (from December 17–27, 2020), targeting all active adult (n=281) and pediatric (n=71) ID specialists in Korea (total=352). An online-based survey link was forwarded to them via text messages and e-mails by the office of the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases and the Korean Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Questions regarding the practice areas of the specialists were divided into five categories: (1) clinical practices of outpatient care, inpatient care, and consultations; (2) infection control; (3) antibiotic stewardship; (4) research; and (5) education and training. We investigated the weekly time-use patterns for these areas of practice.ResultsA total of 144/281 (51.2%) adult ID specialists and 51/71 (71.8%) pediatric ID specialists participated in the survey. Among them, 144 (73.8%) respondents were involved in all practice categories investigated. The most common practice area was outpatient service (93.8%), followed by consultation (91.3%) and inpatient service (87.7%)(Table 1). Specialists worked a median of 57 (interquartile range: 50–65) hours weekly: patient care, 29 (14–37) hours; research 11 (5–19) hours; infection control 4 (2–10) hours; antibiotic stewardship, 3 (1–5) hours; and education/training, 2 (2–6) hours (Table 2).ConclusionWe identified areas of practice and patterns of time use among adult and pediatric ID specialists in Korea. Most experts were in charge of all necessary areas (including treatment, education, research, infection control, and antibiotic stewardship) in medical institutions with limited resources. It is expected that these problems can be solved by appropriately compensating individuals and medical institutions for their invisible activities (including infection control and antibiotic stewardship) and by securing additional human resources. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Lifestyle differentiation among older adults: exploring the links between individuals’ behaviours, socio-demographic characteristics, health and wellbeing in later life

AbstractThe association between everyday activities, health and subjective wellbeing in older adults has mostly been examined using different activities as separate variables. Which activities are likely to come together in individuals’ daily time-use patterns, or in what context, has not yet been analysed. This study looks at a broad range of spontaneously reported activities, their location and social context to identify latent behavioural classes. The data used in the study came from a sample of 200 non-institutionalised adults aged 65 and above. Activity data were collected using the Experience Sampling Method. Generalised structural equation modelling was used to identify the classes. Three distinctive behavioural classes, representing different lifestyles, emerged: passive domiciliary, active functional and social recreational. They constituted 30, 53 and 17 per cent of the sample, respectively. Class membership was related to individuals’ age, education and selected dimensions of health measured using the Nottingham Health Profile: energy levels and emotional response. There was consistency between the objectively measured class and an individual's subjective assessment of their physical and emotional health. While both class membership and subjective wellbeing were associated with health, the relationship between class and wellbeing was weak and fully explained by socio-demographic and health-related variables.

Declining complexity of behavioural sequences in late adulthood: its meaning and implications

Abstract This study looks at the time-use patterns of older adults and examines how complexity of daily behavioural sequences is related to an individual's age. Maintaining complex behavioural sequences in daily lives means that a person is able to lead a relatively rich life, but this becomes increasingly difficult as individuals face growing functional, cognitive or social limitations. The data used in the study came from four nationally representative time-use surveys: German (2012/2013), Polish (2013/2014), Finish (2009/2010), and British (2014/2015). The analyses were carried out on a total sample of 25,495 time-use diaries of respondents aged between 65 and 102. The association between sequence complexity, age, and a set of other covariates was analysed using multivariable regression models fitted independently for each country. The results provide evidence of a significant age-related decline in the complexity of individuals' daily time-use patterns. The steepness of this decline varied across populations. Commonalities in the complexity covariates included the positive net effects of female gender, and tertiary education, and the negative net effect of living in a larger household, which potentially indicated loss of independence. Those effects held in all countries. Decline in complexity was primarily driven by loss of entropy that is decreasing diversity of activities that filled older adults' daily lives. This study concludes that sequence complexity may serve as a behavioural indicator of an individual's general functioning in late adulthood. Key messages Declining sequence complexity is driven by loss of diversity of activities - some activities are dropped and not replaced with other. While complexity declines with age, there are important country and socioeconomic differences in complexity of older adults daily time use patterns.

How is the way we spend our time related to psychological wellbeing? A cross-sectional analysis of time-use patterns in the general population and their associations with wellbeing and life satisfaction

BackgroundTime-use surveys can closely monitor daily activities, times of stress and relaxation, and examine predictors and trajectories with regard to health. However, previous studies have often neglected the complex interaction of daily activities when looking at health outcomes.MethodsUsing latent profile analysis, this study examined patterns of self-reported daily time use (0–12h hours) for nine types of behaviour (work, errands, housework, childcare, care of persons in need, education, repairs and gardening, physical activity, and hobbies/leisure-time activities) in the 2018 wave of the German Socio-Economic Panel (N = 30,152; 51.9% female; M = 46.87 years). Sociodemographic variables, affective wellbeing, general and domain-specific life satisfaction, and self-rated health were inspected as predictors via multinomial logistic regression models.ResultsSix latent profiles emerged: full-time work (47.2%), leisure (33.8%), childcare (8.9%), education (7.0%), part-time work & care (2.6%), and care (0.5%). Overall, the care and part-time work & care profiles showed the lowest wellbeing scores, lower subjective health, and life satisfaction. Women were more likely to be members of the care and childcare profiles. Men were more likely to belong to the full-time work profile, and they reported significantly higher wellbeing than women.ConclusionsThe analysis revealed distinct patterns of time use and a burden on women, given their investment in care and childcare. Part-time work, and care seemed particularly demanding, and thus, are important areas for prevention, for instance, regarding mental health problems. However, time use was assessed via self-reports, therefore future studies could implement objective measures like digital trackers to validate findings.

Power, agency and children’s time use in rural Sierra Leone

ABSTRACT Children’s time allocation plays an important role in their well-being, education and future chances in life. This paper examines children’s time use in rural Sierra Leone in the context of dynamics of power. It analyses the ways in which children co-construct their patterns of time use and create their own temporal spaces within the boundaries of existing expectations and norms. Drawing on rich qualitative data we argue that children’s routines are shaped by an interplay of various dimensions and expressions of power that create and re-create gender, generation and other social orders in a particular society. This power interplay creates polyphonic temporal spaces where school, work and play time overlap each other.The analysis of this polyphony of time use has demonstrated that children’s time allocation goes beyond simple one dimensional task distribution and includes a complex network of activities that may take place simultaneously.

Disentangling Time Use, Food Environment, and Food Behaviors Using Multi‐Channel Sequence Analysis

Geographic access to food retailers has long been considered an important determinant of food‐related behaviors. Despite methodological improvements in assessing food environments, their associations with food behaviors have remained inconsistent. We argue that one possible reason for these inconsistencies is the lack of information about how an individual’s time use dynamics play out in space. To this point, few studies on the combined effects of food geography and time use on food behaviors exist, and methods to achieve such analyses have been underdeveloped. In this study, we propose a novel application of multi‐channel sequence analysis (MCSA) to identify joint patterns of time use and food‐related geographic contexts. We explore how those spatiotemporal patterns are associated with individuals’ food shopping and food‐related household chores. This analytical workflow is demonstrated using time use diaries and GPS trajectories collected in Toronto in 2019. This test case identifies spatiotemporal patterns with distinctive characteristics of disaggregated time use and spatial exposure to food retail and finds associations between these distinct space‐time patterns and participation in food‐related activities. This application of MCSA affords a promising novel approach for food environment researchers to perform nuanced assessments of the sequenced spatiotemporal contexts in which food‐related behaviors occur.

Beyond 'drinking occasions': Examining complex changes in drinking practices during COVID-19.

Introduction‘Drinking occasions’ are commonly used to capture quantities of alcohol consumed. Yet this standardised terminology brings with it numerous assumptions and epistemological limitations. We suggest that social changes brought on by COVID‐19 restrictions have influenced routines, patterns of time use and drinking practices, highlighting the need to re‐examine how we conceptualise drinking and ‘drinking occasions’ in alcohol research.MethodsThis analysis draws on data gathered from 59 qualitative interviews conducted during the second half of 2020 with Australian drinkers aged 18 and over. The interviews explored how COVID‐19 restrictions impacted daily practices and alcohol consumption patterns.FindingsParticipants spoke about their work, study and social routines changing, which influenced the times, timing and contexts of their drinking practices. We separated these shifts into four overarching themes: shifting of structures shaping drinking; the permeability of drinking boundaries; the extension of drinking occasions; and new contexts for drinking.Discussion and ConclusionCOVID‐19 restrictions have led to shifts in the temporal boundaries and contexts that would otherwise shape people's drinking, meaning drinking practices may be less bound by structures, norms, settings and rituals. The drinking occasions concept, although a simple tool for measuring how much people drink, has not been able to capture these complex developments. This is a timely consideration given that COVID‐19 may have enduring effects on people's lifestyles, work and drinking practices. It may be useful to examine drinking as practice, rather than just an occasion, in order to better contextualise epidemiological studies going forward.

Impact of Time-Use Behaviour on Residential Energy Consumption in the United Kingdom

In order to have the best possible chance of achieving ‘decent work’ and ‘climate action’ as laid forth in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, government and policy makers must pay close attention to current time-use patterns, as well as the way these might change in the near future. Here we contribute to the existing literature on time-use behaviour through a systematic exploration of the relationship between working patterns and energy consumption from the perspective of time-use. Our starting point is the premise that different work arrangements impact the timing of energy demand not only in workplaces, but also at home. Using the data from the 2014–2015 UK time-use survey, we were able to capture patterns of time-use behaviours and to assess their relationship with daily energy consumption. We propose a systematic time-use-based approach for estimating residential energy consumption with regards to activity timing, activity location, activity coordination, and appliance type. We use this method to discover patterns in residential activities and energy consumption, as well as the causal relationship between residential energy consumption and work patterns. In this study, we unpack the heterogeneity in the work–energy relationship, particularly when comparing full-time and part-time workers. Our results suggest that full-time employees have a higher potential to reduce their energy use compared to part-time employees. We also discover a non-linear change in total energy consumption for respondents with varying levels of work time. Energy consumption reductions associated with differences in work schedules are greatest during the first few hours of the workday, but then level off. Our findings suggests that time-use data can provide useful insights for evaluating and possibly designing energy and labour-market policies.

Daily Social Life of Older Adults and Vulnerabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Introduction: The social integration of older adults is crucial for understanding their risk of infection and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the social lives of older adults differ, which means they are not all vulnerable to COVID-19 in the same way. This study analyzes everyday time use and social contacts of older adults to inform discussions of their vulnerabilities during the pandemic.Methods: Using the 2019 American time use survey (N = 4,256, aged 55 and older), hurdle model regressions were used to examine the relationship between age, gender, and six indicators of the degree of social contact and time use, including (1) time alone, (2) time spent with family members, (3) time spent with non-family members, (4) time spent with people in the same household, (5) number of public spaces visited, and (6) time spent in public spaces.Results: Results showed substantial heterogeneity in everyday time use and social contacts. Time in public places gradually decreased from the oldest-old (85 years or older), old-old (75–84 years), to mid-life (55–64 years) adults. The gaps were not explained by age differences in sociodemographic characteristics and social roles. Compared with mid-life adults, time with family members of the young-old and old-old adults decreased, but time with non-family members increased. Age differences in social roles over the life course partially explained the differences.Conclusions: Should these patterns of time use and social contacts persist during COVID-19; then, such variations in the organization of social life may create different exposure contexts and vulnerabilities to social distancing measures among older adults; such information could help inform interventions to better protect this population.

Is ageing becoming more active? Exploring cohort-wise changes in everyday time use among the older population in Sweden

The time older people spend on various daily activities is critical for their health and well-being. New generations of older adults are increasingly expected to participate in ‘active’ activities. We explore shifts in active time use among upcoming cohorts of older people in Sweden. Recognizing the diverging meanings associated with the active ageing concept, we develop a classification model comprising the spheres of work, social engagement, and active leisure. We observe differences in time use of the ‘older middle-aged’ (pre-retirement), ‘young old’, and ‘older old’ observed in 2000/2001 and 2010/2011. We draw on two cross sections of Swedish time-use survey data covering 120 activities related to people’s everyday lives. We measure between-cohort differences in mean time use and employ covariate analysis to control for the influence of group-wise changes in socio-demographics. Linear regression is used to explore social differentiation, e.g. the influence of gender. Comparisons between new and previous generations indicate substantial increases in overall active ageing activity: increases by 7 h per week among the older old and 3.5 h among the young old and older middle-aged. New generations spend more time on work, paid or unpaid, and leisure digital interaction; for some, this is counteracted by less free time spent on social engagement. The new generation of the older old group spends more time on outdoor activity and exercise. These time-use patterns are gendered and dependent on education, mainly due to changes in cohort composition.

What do time-use patterns tell us about the validity of self-reported health?

ObjectiveThis short communication investigates the usefulness of time-use measures to validate subjective health measures such as self-reported health (SRH). It does this by examining time-use patterns and SRH among middle-age adults in the United States distinguished by race/ethnicity and with additional attention to differences in responses based on language of interview for Hispanics. MethodsData for this study come from the 2013–2016 American Time Use Survey. We calculated average time-use for personal care; housework; paid work; leisure; volunteering/travel; caregiving; and education for every racial/ethnic group differentiating by SRH for 27,063 adults aged 25–64 years. A series of ANOVAs were computed to assess differences in time-use by SRH. ResultsNon-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic Blacks who reported poor/fair SRH spent more time in personal care and leisure, and less time in paid work, volunteering/travel, caregiving and education, in comparison to those who reported Excellent/Very Good/Good SRH. Among Hispanics, differences by SRH were found for personal care, paid work, leisure and volunteering/travel. Hispanics who answered in English displayed partially similar patterns in SRH found for non-Hispanic whites and Blacks. Hispanics who answered in Spanish demonstrated differences in SRH in the areas of paid work, leisure and education, diverging from the other groups. ConclusionsTime-use differences by health status are consistent between non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, but not so for Hispanics. To some extent, Hispanics who answered in English have more comparable patterns to non-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic Blacks than Spanish respondents. Caution should be exercised when self-reported health measures are used to compare diverse samples collected with surveys that are administered in different languages.

Does live-in domestic help reduce unpaid household labor? The paradox of intensive parenting and domestic outsourcing

This two-stage mixed-method study pulls the literature of domestic outsourcing and intensive parenting together to investigate the role of employing live-in domestic helpers in the time-use patterns of household labor among working parents in Hong Kong. In the first stage, regression models are used to analyze data from a representative household survey of working parents ( N = 791). Regression results show that working parents who hire live-in domestic help spent less time in housework. Yet, the reduction in housework time was partially offset by the managing tasks brought about by the use of live-in help. Working parents with live-in helpers also spent significantly more time on childcare than did working parents without such help. To interpret the regression results, the study draws on qualitative data from in-depth interviews ( N = 20) to unpack the meaning of hiring help and its relationship with the notion and practices of parenting. The findings highlight that the use of live-in domestic help is a specialization strategy to strive for perfection in parenting for parents who juggle work, childcare and household chores. By outsourcing household chores and more routinized childcare tasks to the helpers, working parents, especially mothers, can focus on emotional bonding and tasks conducive to the development of their children.

Interpersonal Perception of Time-Use Patterns in Romantic Relationships: Protocol for the IP-COUPLES Study.

BackgroundPerceptual congruence has been defined as the level of agreement between partners on various aspects of their shared lives, including perceived engagement in individual and jointly performed activities. While the level of adjustment made by partners to such activities is thought to contribute to a couple’s sense of mutuality, perceptions of time use concerning activity engagement has yet to be considered. As such, this study will determine the level of perceptual congruence between partners with respect to perceived time use in their respective and shared activities.ObjectiveThe primary objective of the IP-COUPLES study is to determine the similarities and differences between partners in terms of their perceptual congruence with respect to independent and jointly performed activities. This study will also examine the association between independent and joint activities in terms of perceptual congruence of time use and the strength of this association.MethodsThis descriptive observational study includes 100 couples from Western Switzerland who are recruited using snowball sampling methods. The Life Balance Inventory (LBI), a self-report questionnaire that captures activity configuration congruence, will measure independent and joint perceptions of both time use allocated to daily activities and corresponding satisfaction. Due to COVID-19, the protocol can be administered virtually by the primary investigator. The mean scores of perceptual congruence variables will be used for analysis, namely perceived congruence of time use in terms of independent and jointly performed activities. For the first objective, an independent t test will be used for each variable to compare the mean score between activities on the LBI. For the second objective, the correlations between the mean scores for these activities will be calculated for each variable using the Pearson correlation.ResultsThe IP-COUPLES study protocol was developed in 2019 and 2020. Enrollment began in June 2020. Data collection will continue until October 2021 to account for time needed for recruitment due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Analysis and presentation of results are expected in 2022.ConclusionsThis study is exploratory, as it is the first to our knowledge to investigate how perceived time-use patterns with respect to independent or jointly performed activities are similar or different among romantic couples. By investigating the interpersonal perception of time-use patterns among couples, the IP-COUPLES study is an important first step to understanding how romantic partners’ daily activities are contributing to the level of satisfaction as a partner and as a couple and to the sense of mutuality between partners in a romantic relationship.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/21306

Gender differences in child and adolescent daily activities: A cross-national time use study

This study used 2009–2015 time-diary data to examine gender differences in daily activities among children and adolescents aged 10–17 in Finland, Spain and the UK ( N = 3517). In all three countries, boys were significantly more involved in screen-based activities and exercising and girls in domestic work, non-screen educational activities and personal care. Gender differences in socializing time were only significant in the UK, with girls socializing more than boys. Gender gaps within countries were largest in domestic work (UK: 60%; Finland: 58%; Spain: 48%) and exercising (UK: 57%; Finland: 36%; Spain: 27%), followed by educational time (UK: 35%; Finland: 34%; Spain: 18%) and screen-based activities (UK: 31%; Finland: 16%; Spain: 16%), and lower in personal care (UK: 27%; Finland: 21%; Spain: 14%) and socializing (UK; 21%; Finland: 13%; Spain: 6%). Two-way country-gender interactions in children’s activities were statistically significant when comparing Spain and the UK on screen-based activities, socializing, and personal care, with larger gender gaps in the UK than in Spain. By contrast, gender differences in child time use between Finland and either Spain or UK were not statistically significant. The complex role of national contexts and life-course stages in shaping gendered time-use patterns is discussed.

POLA PENGGUNAAN RUANG DAN WAKTU RUSA SAMBAR (Rusa unicolor) DI RAGUNAN

Daily activities are all activities carried out by animals daily starting from the morning out of the nest until late in the evening and back again to the nest. This study aims to determine the activity pattern of sambar deer (Rusa unicolor). This observation was carried out at the Ragunan zoo which was carried out in 3 stages, namely morning, afternoon and evening. This study observed the patterns of time use and space use observed in sambar deer with 5 age class categories, namely adult males, adult females, young males and young females. The results of the research obtained from the activity of the sambar deer in the morning, namely the allocation of time for daily activities in the morning for each different age class, the allocation of time for feeding, moving, and resting activities during the daytime period for each individual age class of the deer is different and the time allocation for daily activities in the afternoon for each age class is different. Most of the sambar deer in Ragunan prefer to be in the grass below the stands for their activities. Time allocation (time budget) for sambar deer in age class and sex is influenced by the time of activity (morning-afternoon-evening).

A joint model of household time use and task assignment for elderly couples with multiple constraints.

Household time-use patterns are expected to reflect each household member’s daily activity participation and duration with intra-household interactions constrained by multiple budgets. Among various activities, the allocated activity derived from undertaking a household task is studied relatively less in the literature. Who will take an allocated activity is a discrete choice problem of household task assignment, and once a household member is assigned with one household task, other members will have more time to do other activities. To better understand household time-use patterns affected by household task assignment, this paper proposed a joint household-level multiple discrete-continuous extreme value-multinomial logit (MDCEV-MNL) model with multiple constraints. The Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) method combined with the simulation-based maximum likelihood estimation method is proposed to estimate the proposed model. Based on the household activity-travel data from Beijing of China, the proposed model is customized to explore elderly couples’ time-use patterns with intra-household interactions affected by household task assignment. Following the findings, policy implications are suggested to build an age-friendly society.

Profiles of Working Moms' Daily Time Use: Exploring Their Impact on Leisure.

This paper identified latent profiles depending on the patterns of daily time usage amongst working moms in Korea and tested their relations to family- and work-related characteristics. The consequent differences in the levels of leisure attributes were further investigated. Taking a holistic approach, latent profile analysis, one of the person-centered methods, was conducted using data drawn from the seventh year of the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families (KLoWF), with a sample of 1074 women. The results of this study indicate that three different subtypes of individuals emerged: a low-level care group (82.1%), a medium-level care group (13.8%), and a high-level care group (4.1%). The factors determining the classification for the profiles were the existence of preschool children, household income, gender role attitudes, and domestic help. Work-related factors proved to have no significant effect on time-use patterns. Profile membership was related to leisure attributes as perceived by working moms: the low-level care group reported the highest level of leisure time adequacy and leisure satisfaction, while the high-level care group presented the lowest level of sufficiency and satisfaction in their leisure time. Based on these findings, the article discusses the practical implications for enhancing the quality of life of working mothers.

Comparison of time-use patterns and self-efficacy in family caregivers of patients with chronic disease

Background/Aims Caregivers perform an important role but caring affects other roles they perform, resulting in poor time management and reduced quality of life. This study aimed to compare the time-use patterns and self-efficacy of caregivers of two groups of patients with chronic disease: those with a diagnosis of mental illness and those without a diagnosis of mental illness. Methods Family caregivers of patients with a chronic disease who were aged between 20–60 years, resident in Arak, not taking care of another patient and literate were eligible to participate. The presence of mental illness was based on a psychiatrist's diagnosis at least 6 months before the study. The Mothers' Time Use Questionnaire, Sherer Self-efficacy Scale and a demographic questionnaire were used to capture data relating to time-use, self-efficacy and participant characteristics. Data were analysed using independent t-test and Mann–Whitney U test to identify and compare time-use patterns and self-efficacy. Results There were no significant between-group differences in demographics or mean time-use scores in six domains (rest/sleep, leisure, housework, work/occupation, social participation and satisfaction with time management). Self-care time-use scores (time, quality, importance and enjoyment) were significantly higher for caregivers of patients with chronic disease with a diagnosis of mental illness. Patient care time-use scores were significantly higher for caregivers of patients with chronic disease without a diagnosis of mental illness. Mean self-efficacy score was significantly higher in the group caring for patients with a diagnosis of psychiatric disease. Conclusions Chronic physical illnesses may result in greater dependence on caregivers than mental illness, increasing the amount of time spent on care and reducing caregiver self-efficacy.